WASHINGTON: The Intelligence Community does not agree with President Trump that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat.” We know that because Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Community today that Kim Il Sung’s country is “not likely to give up” all its nuclear weapons. Here’s our story two years…
By Colin ClarkPENTAGON CITY: Sen. Susan Collins has a bill about how to improve cyber sharing that should go to markup next week and she spoke about the challenges cyber poses to the government this morning at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance annual conference here. Three former directors of National Intelligence — John Negroponte, Mike McConnell and…
By Colin ClarkTAMPA: The conventional image of an American president managing a crisis shows him thumbing through a briefing book on a desk in the Situation Room or Oval Office. The new standard may well become that of a president with an iPad in his lap or on his desk, keenly watching a video or flipping through…
By Colin ClarkLast year’s MIP funding — including OCO dough — was $19.2B. Today’s figure of $14.6 billion huge drop from 2010 figure of $27 billion. @colinclarkaol
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: A combat patrol is four soldiers walking, under orders to look for trouble and react to it. For most of modern history, infantry squads have been the military’s principal sensors, forcing an enemy to respond, allowing American forces to judge the situation and respond. But that is an always risky, often bloody way to…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: North Korea’s recent successful launch of a satellite into orbit raises “lots of concerns for lots of reasons,” and means that the secretive state now possesses the capability of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, the head of Air Force Space Command, Gen. William Shelton said this morning. The ability to sling a warhead across continents…
By Colin ClarkOur clever Chinese friends at Next Media Animation have done it again with a video offering their unique perspective on the scandal that has enveloped two of our top military leaders — and several women. We haven’t pursued these stories with much gusto, keeping our focus on strategy, policy and politics and leaving the prurient…
By Colin ClarkORLANDO: (Story Delayed Due to Software Problems) A study by the intelligence community raised industrial base “concerns” about the merger between commercial spy satellite companies GeoEye and DigitalGlobe but found no showstoppers. That’s the word from Letitia Long, director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). I asked Long today if industrial base issues had…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: When the Presidential Daily Briefing occurs, a top intelligence official traditionally hands the president a folder with a sheaf of paper inside. The president may read what’s inside or have it presented by the intelligence official. Then comes question time, when the chief executive and commander in chief can ask how reliable a source…
By Colin ClarkLONDON: The newspaper with arguably the best connections in the UK security world reports that a Parliamentary committee calls for cyber attacks on those who attack British interests. Here’s what the Daily Telegraph’s Tuesday morning front page headline says: “Destroy our cyber enemies, say MPs.” Here’s what the story says: Security and intelligence agencies should…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: Worried that proposed cuts to the multi-billion commercial satellite imagery budget may be too deep, the White House has ordered a study to determine how much can or should be cut. The study is being led by Roger Mason, associate director for systems and resource analyses in the Office of Director of National Intelligence,…
By Colin ClarkWashington: The White House’s top counterterrorism official expressed renewed worries today about terrorists getting their hands on sophisticated surface-to-air weapons as news reports confirmed mass looting of surface-air-missiles by Libya’s new transitional government. John Brennan, speaking at an intelligence conference organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Intelligence and National Security…
By Colin Clark
The Chinese just walked out of Anthem’s enormous data warehouse (though without encrypting their data it might as well have been a troop of Girl Scouts) with personal data on a quarter of America’s population. Assuming that the pro forma outrage and denial is a confirmation of culpability, the People’s Liberation Army and its various subsidiaries will…
By John Quigg